The upcoming Olympic Games hosted by Rio Dejaneiro in Brazil continue to make terrifying headlines.
This would be paradise has turned into a living hell for the Olympic Committee and the fallout has now spilled over to cause questions about the very safety of the athletes in attendance.
Rio’s crime is running out of control!
Now allegations of kidnapping have entered the frey for these beleaguered games…
Jason Lee, a New Zealand-born jujitsu fighter based in Rio de Janeiro, said he was “kidnapped” Saturday by armed men dressed in police uniforms and forced to withdraw money from two separate ATMs to pay for his release.
The 27-year-old martial arts expert, who has been living in Brazil for the past 10 months, tweeted sarcastically on Sunday: “What did you guys get up to yesterday? I got kidnapped. Go Olympics! #Rio2016.”
In an interview Lee explained in some detail about how his predicament developed from what appeared to be a routine traffic stop by two policemen on motorbikes into a life and death hostage situation.
“First, he asked me to stretch my arms, then patted me down,” Lee said. “At this point, it still looked reasonably professional.”
However, after the policemen searched the New Zealander’s rental car, one of the cops returned brandishing a large book and told Lee he was breaking the law.
“He says, ‘You can’t drive in Brazil as a foreigner without a passport,’ which I now know isn’t the case at all. The rental car company hadn’t mentioned that to me. He starts opening the book, showing me all these passages in Portuguese, which I can sort of read, like, every third word.”
The men then demanded that Lee pay them 2000 Brazilian reals ($615) or face a night in a Rio jail…what justice…
“At this point, I acknowledged to myself that I’ve completely backed myself into a corner,” Lee said. “These guys have pulled me over. They have weapons. I’m not in any position to negotiate,” Lee elaborated.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I could possibly die.”
Lee, who was not carrying any cash at the time, was forced to drive to a nearby police bunker underneath an overpass, where he was swapped into an unmarked private car and taken to two ATMs to withdraw enough money to pay the officers.
Once he returned to the bunker, Lee handed over the money and was finally released.
“[They] said, ‘You can’t say anything to anyone about this — not a word,'” Lee said.
The jujitsu fighter did, however, report the incident to the Rio authorities…a bold move, seeming who do you actually get to trust in that depraved city?
